Unit 2: Physical Oceanography Objectives:  The student can

1.  Define, explain, and use in context:  plate tectonics, continental drift, mid-ocean ridge, basalt, granite, plate, Pangea, lithosphere, asthenosphere, subduction, convection current, SONAR, continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise, abyssal plain, mid-ocean ridge, rift valley, ocean trench, seamount, guyot, continental margin, bioluminescence, hydrothermal vent, hotspot, mantle, crust.

2.  Identify several types of plate movement at divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries and what happens as each occurs.

3.  Identify the person who developed the theory of plate tectonics and recite information about his career and life.

4.  Provide a list of evidence to support the theory of plate tectonics and continental drift.

5. Identify areas in the world affected by the 3 types of plate boundaries.

6.  Calculate depth of the ocean, given time it takes for SONAR to return to the ship, and calculate time, given depth.

7.  Identify the major plates by name and location.

8.  Explain how characteristics of the zone/layer of the ocean or beach affect which organisms can survive there.

9.  List/recite basic biological classification associated with marine organisms (3 domains: Archaea, Bacteria, Eukarya; 5 kingdoms: Monera, Protoctista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia; Monera-Archaebacteria & Eubacteria; taxonomic levels: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species).

10.  Define, explain, and use in context:  plankton (phytoplankton vs. zooplankton; holoplankton, meroplankton, macroplankton, bacterioplankton, virioplankton, picoplankton), nekton, benthos (epifauna, infauna, nektobenthos), pelagic (epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, hadopelagic zones), hydrothermal vent community, dessiccation, buoyancy, appendage, streamlining, isothermal, stentothermal, eurythermal, stenohaline, euryhaline, diffusion, isotonic v hypertonic v hypotonic, euphotic v disphotic v aphotic.

11.  Compare and contrast the levels of taxonomic organization.

12.  Explain how dissolved oxygen changes with depth.

13.  Identify and compare/contrast the types of camouflage used by marine species: countershading vs. disruptive coloration.

14.  List the biozones and label on a diagram:  Neritic Province, Oceanic Province (epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic).

15.  Interpret a map of the ocean floor, and map the floor using data from a table or graph.

16.  Sketch and label the Earth’s layers.

17.  Explain the characteristics of sand found from various beaches of the world (Mississippi Gulf Coast, China, and Cuba) and how events and age have shaped those characteristics.

18.  Recite quantitative data associated with marine environments:

            # identified species > 250,000

            98% benthic & 2% pelagic

            Pressure increases 1 atm for every 10 meters

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UNIT 3: Chemistry of Water

The student can

1. List and explain the properties of water and how these properties make water unique.

2. Explain ocean acidification and its effects on marine organisms (coral bleaching, calcium carbonate shell organisms, etc.)

3. Draw a diagram of the water cycle, using the terms: precipitation, watershed, evaporation, runoff, condensation.

4. Define, explain, and use in context: solute, solvent, solution, universal solvent, compound, atom, element, electrons, protons, electrostatic force, polar/polarity, hydroxide/hydroxyl ion, acid, base, pH, buffer, neutral, salinity, halocline, thermocline, photosynthesis, respiration, precipitate, indicator solution, sea level, global warming.

5. Explain the differences between halocline and thermocline.

6. Perform tests on water samples for: dissolved oxygen, pH, phosphates, turbidity, salinity.

7. Prepare a 3.5% salt solution, along with a variety of other concentrations, and use a student-made salinometer to confirm the concentrations.

8. Identify the oxygen minimum zone and explain its significance, along with the reasons that it is located in that layer of the ocean.

9. Explain the difference between covalent bonds (between hydrogen and oxygen) and hydrogen bonds (between one water molecule and another.)

10. Identify the Earth’s water budget (97% ocean, 3% fresh with 1/3 liquid.)

11. Use density to explain the ocean’s layers: mixed ocean layer, pycnocline, and deep water zone.

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UNIT 4: Tides, Waves, Currents

1. Define, explain, and use in context:

 

• Tidal range

• Semidiurnal tide

• Diurnal tide

• Mixed tide

• Tidal bulge

• Spring tides

• Neap tides

• Perigee

• Apogee

• Aphelion

• Perihelion

• Grunion run

• Ripple

• Wave

• Wave height

• Wave train

• Formula for speed/velocity of a wave

• Swell

• Breaker

• Whitecap

• Littoral current

• Littoral drift

• Groin

• Jetty

• Dredging

• Seawall

• Tide table

• Hurricane

• Tsunami

• Monsoon

• Current

• Vertical current

• Convection current

• Rip current

• Tidal current

• Turbidity current

• Countercurrent

• Longshore current

• Upwelling

• Undertoe

• Sandbar

• Rogue wave

• Tidal bore

• Slack water

• Coriolis Effect

• Whirlpool

• Gyre

• Deposition

 

 

1. Identify parts of a basic wave: wavelength, period, height, crest, trough, amplitude, equilibrium, node.

2. Explain what causes tides, waves, and currents.

3. Use the speed of a shallow wave equation to determine speed, wavelength, or period, given the other parameters.

4. Find the rate of speed of a wave using depth and gravity values.

5. Identify major global currents and explain how they move.

6. Identify different types of ocean currents.

7. Explain how temperature and salinity affect ocean currents.

8. Identify major historical storms (Katrina, Camille, Betsy, etc.) and their effects on coastal areas.

9. Demonstrate the Coriolis Effect and how it impacts weather and oceans.

10. Interpret a tide table.

11. Identify several careers related to unit content.

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Unit 5 Flora & Fauna

The student can

1.  Define, explain, and use in context:  sea level rise, thermal expansion, primary productivity, gross/net primary productivity, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, producers, autotrophs, heterotrophs, ecological efficiency, trophic level, biomass, symbiosis, invasive species, interdependence, biodiversity, extrapolate, microplastics, gyres, nonpoint source pollution, ecological efficiency, natural selection, adaptations, traits.

2.  Research, analyze, and communicate which and in what capacity local, state, and federal regulatory agencies are involved in different aquatic ecosystems, including current environmental policies already in place such as the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

3.  Explain the effects of natural phenomena (hurricanes, floods, drought, sea-level rise) on aquatic and marine ecosystems.

4.  Explore the importance of species diversity to the biological resources needed by human populations, including food, medicine, and natural aesthetics.

5.  Research, analyze, and communicate the effects of urbanization and continued expansion by humans on aquatic/marine ecosystems’ biodiversity (land use changes, erosion, sedimentation, over-fishing, invasive/exotic species, and pollution.)

6.  Explain why sewage treatment is necessary and the basic treatments performed to ensure water is clean before it is released into local streams.

7.  Perform calculations to determine gross/net primary productivity and ecological efficiency.

8.  List examples of marine/aquatic relationships among organisms:  predation, commensalism, parasite/host, competition, mutualism.

9.  Explain and demonstrate the concept of natural selection.